Marionette
by noo
Summary: Owen has a new toy - his colleagues are not impressed. Written for the Torchwood Weekly Writing Challenge 2009, prompt #1 - /forum/YaBB.pl?board wk ch1


"Yuck! That's disgusting," Gwen told Owen as he dumped another pile of innards into the tray.

"You don't have to watch, if you don't like it," Owen spoke distractedly as he looked around his workspace. "Gotcha," he cried as he found the implement he was searching for. It was long and silver with a curved spoon like end to it.

Owen inserted the implement into the small insertion cut he had made into the creature earlier and sliding it carefully up what he could only call its neck, he flicked the little button on the outside of the shaft. His audience could only imagine the bending that was occurring inside the creature as its previously flaccid head was now appearing supported.

Gwen lent forward over the railing to get a closer look at the horrible sight on the autopsy table. The creature was a dirty dark blue in colour, the kind of blue you normally only saw on a building site workers shirt. A blue so dark to apparently hide the dirt but in reality the dirt was there still to be seen.

Gwen noted with interest that the creature's skin was reminiscent of something familiar. She wasn't too sure what it was until Owen lifted up the implement and the alien attached to it.

With it's round white-rimmed eyes and little black button nose and the red tongue lolling out of its mouth it looked like a sock puppet. A sock puppet with a very devious master in charge of it.

"Ugh," Gwen heard said from the man standing close behind her.

"What?" Owen protested at the expression of disgust.

"Do you have to play with everything that ends up on your operating table?" Ianto asked him.

Owen turned the creature so it appeared to be looking at him, and like any child playing with a sock puppet, turning back to the adult that he wanted to torture, he made the creature nod in time with himself at Ianto.

"You are such a child," Ianto protested before turning on his heel and striding away.

"Can't stand the heat," Owen happily exclaimed after Ianto's retreating back.

"I have actual work to do," Ianto yelled back, "I don't sit around all day playing with things."

"No, just with Jack!" Owen sallied back as he ducked down behind the autopsy table, out of Gwen's line of sight.

Gwen lent even more forward to see if Owen was trying to hide from what was likely to be the 'wrath of Ianto'. She had remained remarkably quiet from the verbal stoush, but this was her experience coming through. When Owen and Ianto snarked at each other it was wise to just observe the bloodshed.

A slap upon Jack's desk was heard from his office and Gwen bit her lip in anticipation as she heard the quick footsteps heading towards the doorway, waiting to hear what Ianto was going to come back with. She heard Jack's voice speaking quietly, obviously trying to diffuse the situation.

"Yes!" Owen exclaimed from his position nearly under the autopsy table and Gwen jumped back in shock and collided with the solid body behind her.

"Owen, I'm pretty sure it didn't glow when we found it in the backyard in Victoria Park!" Gwen felt more than heard Jack's deep rumble. "What have you done to it?" Jack continued as his hands slid off of where he had gripped Gwen's upper arms and he stepped around her to peer at the creature who was now glowing through it's black eyes.

"Hmm?" Owen asked as his head popped up over the autopsy table. His hand was still holding the implement that was inserted up its neck and the creature was looking at Jack and Gwen like some cheap puppet theatre. Owen's confused looking disembodied head next to it was not helping the imagery.

"God!" Ianto exclaimed as he rounded out of Jack's office and the view into the autopsy bay came into his line of sight. He looked at Jack, "I told you, he's like a child who never got to play with anything when he was an actual child. That really is disgusting."

"Well, Owen, care to explain why our little floppy alien is now a bit more excited and shiny?" Jack asked as he rested one foot on the lower rung of the metal gantry. He crossed his arms as he lent forward on the top rung to look at the odd sock puppet creature.

Gwen stayed back where Jack had left her, although she did rise on the balls of her feet to peer into the lowered area. Ianto had stepped up to stand at Jack's shoulder, but remained just behind him still.

"Remember those rods that Suzie was working on?" Owen asked Jack.

"The ones that were buried in Canton?" Jack queried back.

"The ones that are supposed to be secured in the Archives?" Ianto spoke very quietly.

"Boys," Jack warned, "fight later."

Owen continued quickly, taking Jack's hint to explain himself and expediently. "They are a nice little find, pity she got distracted with the, well, you know. Anyway thought I would take another look at them and found out they can do this!"

Ianto, Gwen and Jack watched as nothing momentous happened in the autopsy bay apart from Owen's smile disappearing very quickly. The sock puppet still was glowing through its black eyes at the three of them.

Owen dropped back down onto the floor, one hand still holding up the alien via the rod and smacked something down on the floor that the others couldn't see. There was a small flicker of lights within the Hub and then an image appeared on the tiled wall.

"It's a camera!" Jack guessed. He brushed past Ianto as he hurried down the steps to closer inspect the technology.

"So the light is from the rod camera?" Ianto pointed at the creature.

"Got it in one Einstein!" Owen smirked at him.

Ianto's nose wrinkled in distaste as he looked at the image projected on the wall. "That means you are showing us its brain?"

"I take it back," Gwen said. "Those aren't disgusting," she pointed at the innards that were still lying in the kidney tray and then up at the image, "that is!"

"It might be it's brain, it could be its kidneys or some other organ entirely," Owen told them as he shrugged.

Jack was ignoring the image and was starting to poke at the rod and where it entered the alien's body. Owen smacked his hand away and glared at Jack who lifted his hands in surrender and watched as Owen started to manipulate a small round switch on the rod.

Ianto turned to face Gwen.

"Gwen," he said, pausing as if he wasn't quite sure what to say to her.

"Don't you dare offer me a coffee," Gwen told him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ianto said. "Care for a walk along the Quay?"

Ianto offered his arm and Gwen gladly accepted it, the two of them leaving their fellow work mates to play with their newfound toy while they sought the comfort of the brisk welsh air.


End file.
